Both casual and polite greetings
are often followed by(or combined with) questions which ask about
someone'sgeneral condition.
The particular greetings and
questionsthat are usedvary according to the situation.

Here are some typical
"condition"
questions:

Casual / Very
Friendly
Greetings

How's it going?How's
everything?How're
things?How're
you doing?How've you been?How's
the
world (been) treating you?How's by
you?

Polite / Friendly
Greetings

How
are you?How
are you, ___
(name)?

How are you ___ ? (today /
this afternoon
/this evening, etc.)

How are you ___ (today, etc.),
___ (name)?

_____________________________________________

Special Notes:

1.

In "How's it going?,"
"How're you doing?,"and"How's
the world (been) treating you?,"the "-ing"
sound changes to a sound that'ssomething
like "un":

How's it goin'?

How're you doin'?

How's the world (been) treatin'
you?

2.

The sounds in "How're
you doing?
and"How'sthe world (been) treating
you?" oftenchange in another way, too: the pronunciationof "you" becomes something like "yuh"
andin "How're," the
"'re"is dropped:

How yuh doin'?

How's the world (been) treatin'
yuh?

3.

In
casual greetings, people frequently say"How's
things?" (even though this is actuallynot
good grammar).

4.

"How's
the world been treating you?" and"How's
the world treating you?" both meanexactly
the same as "How are you?"

5.

In
some parts of the U.S., "How's by you?"is often heard. (This expression is probablya direct translation of a Yiddish question
form.)

6.

In casual greetings, contractions
made
withWh- (information) words are very common.In "condition" questions, contractions
with"How" are often used: